92 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



after being allowed to ripen fully. In the process of baking, 

 an agreeable flavor somewhat different from that of the 

 fresh fruit is developed, some of the varieties developing a 

 decided sweet, acid flavor. While the ordinary Jamaica banana 

 may be cooked or used in fritters, it is by no means as well 

 adapted for this purpose as the varieties of cooking bananas. 



There are a great number of varieties of bananas differing 

 in flavor and appearance as decidedly as the varieties of apples. 

 Some of these varieties may be eaten when they a'-e only half 

 ripe, while others contain in the unripe condition so much tan- 

 nin as to be quite unfit for food. This is particularly true of 

 the Apple banana, which is no more palatable than a green 

 persimmon until it is completely ripe. Little effort has been 

 made thus far to ship cooking varieties of bananas to the 

 United States. 



Waste bananas may be fed to stock, but they should not be 

 used for this purpose until they are entirely ripe. They may 

 also be used in making denatured alcohol. The trunk and 

 leaves of bananas are used as cattle feed. For this purpose 

 they are palatable, but not particularly nutritious. Banana fiber 

 from many localities has been tested, but the commercial use 

 of this fiber offers little prospect at the present time. 



The banana differs widely in its chemical composition from 

 the ordinary fruit of the market, such as apples, pears, and 

 peaches. The high percentage of starch in the banana makes 

 this fruit somewhat comparable with potatoes in nutritive 

 value. It is unquestionable that from the standpoint of human 

 food the banana is the most important fruit known in the 

 world's commerce. Unfortunately, however, the obvious 

 merits of the banana have seemed insufficient to some of its 

 most ardent champions and resort has been had to numerous 

 exaggerations which have been repeated parrot-like in the lit- 

 erature relating to bananas. For example, on a basis of the 

 chemical composition of banana flour, comparisons have been 

 drawn showing that banana flour is far more nutritious than 



